The Satanic Verses of Bhagavad-gita

THE SATANIC VERSES

OF

BHAGAVAD-GITA

Author

KED AR JOSHI BSc MA

This work is released under Creative Commons license : Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA
3.0).

* Kedar Joshi asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

Contents

Preface 3
Abstract 5
The Criticism

1. Krishna— the preacher of yoga— is himself 6
not a yogi

7

2. Krishna alone is satanic (or evil)

8

3. Krishna is nothing short of a terrorist and the
Gita is Hindu terrorism

Critical note 9
(Metaphysics & Morality)

Abbreviations 10

(As used in the "References & Explanatory

Notes")

References & Explanatory Notes 14

2

Preface

The first version of this work was written (and published on the internet) in 2005 in Cambridge,
Cambridgeshire, England. +

Let me declare that I am after truth, not politics. Let me also mention that I am not anti-Hindu;*
I am in fact an ardent believer and practicer of Hindu astrology and am an impassioned devotee
of Lord Rama. §12 Hindu astrology has appeared to me to be so profoundly and minutely true
that I am on the verge of conviction that the ultimate truth is not beyond Hinduism. I consider
myself a "weak agnostic" though.** I am not a Christian or a Muslim. ++

f The second version was written in Pune, India and was published in December 2009; it was republished
in April 2012 on Boloji.com . The latest version is available on SelectedWorks .

* One of my most beloved quotations is a quotation by Max Muller on India: "If I were asked under what
sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered over
the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions of some of them which well deserve the attention
even of those who have studied Plato and Kant, I should point to India. And if I were to ask myself from
what literature we who have been nurtured almost exclusively on the thoughts of Greeks and Romans,
and of the Semitic race, the Jewish, may draw the corrective which is most wanted in order to make our
inner life more perfect, more comprehensive, more universal, in fact more truly human a life... again I
should point to India." (Source: India, What Can It Teach Us (1882) Lecture IV; accessed via the English
Wikiquote page on Max Muller, last modified on 25 April 2013, at 11:22). Another one is the one by Henry
David Thoreau on the Bhagavad-gita: "In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and
cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat-Geeta, since whose composition years of the gods have elapsed,
and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial; and I doubt if
that philosophy is not to be referred to a previous state of existence, so remote is its sublimity from our
conceptions." (Source: Walden (1854), Ch. XVI : The Pond in Winter; accessed via the English Wikiquote page on
Bhagavad Gita, last modified on 13 December 2013, at 15:00).

5 The character portrayed in Valmiki's Ramayana.

** Weak agnosticism is the view that the existence or nonexistence of any deities is currently unknown
but is not necessarily unknowable; therefore, one will withhold judgment until evidence, if any,
becomes available. (Source: The English Wikipedia article on Agnosticism, last modified on 25 April 2014, at
00:39.)

tf However, to some extent, I respect those respective religions. How beautiful and humane the Quranic
verse 2:177 is, for example!: "True piety does not consist in turning your faces to the east or the west -
but truly pious is he who believes in God, and the Last Day, and the angels, and revelation, and the
prophets; and spends his substance - however much he himself may cherish it - upon his near of kin,
and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and the beggars, and for the freeing of human beings
from bondage; and is constant in prayer, and renders the purifying dues; and [truly pious are] they who
keep their promises whenever they promise, and are patient in misfortune and hardship and in time of
peril: it is they that have proved themselves true, and it is they, they who are conscious of God." (Source:
The English Wikiquote page on Qumn , last modified on 22 April 2014, at 09:12.)

3

Notwithstanding my harshest criticism of the Bhagavad-gita,** I profoundly love the Gita for the
very transcendental nature of its metaphysics and the beautiful language in which it has been
expressed. If I refer to Krishna as a terrorist, for instance, it is only because I quite frankly and
objectively and in a sense mathematically believe that he— especially if certain established
metaphysical interpretations of the Gita are to be believed— is a terrorist.

The fact that this work cites relatively §§ a great deal of references may give a false appearance
that it is a mere compilation or synthesis of previous interpretations of the Bhagavad-gita. This
work, on the contrary, relies, discernibly, on none of them for its critical ideas.

Kedar Joshi
Cambridge, Pune.
April 2014

** The word "Bhagavad-gita" is spelled variantly as Bhagavadgita, BhagavadgTta, Bhagavad Gita,
Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavat Gita, etc. and is also known simply as Gita (or Geeta). It literally means "God's
Poem".

5§ Relative to the size of the main body of the work.

4

Abstract

This work, "The Satanic*** Verses of Bhagavad-gita", mainly presents a hardcore criticism of the
morality (or the ethicality) of the Bhagavad-gita— the Hindu Bible, t+t the criticism that the Gita
in fact implies that

1. Krishna— the preacher of yoga— is not in the least a yogi himself,

2. Krishna alone is satanic (or evil), and

3. Krishna— for reasons other than the ones for which he is considered evil— is nothing short of
a terrorist and the Gita is Hindu terrorism.

And, as a matter of necessity, it attempts to systematically dig into the Gita's metaphysical
foundations, further examining the gravity of each criticism through monistic and dualistic
metaphysical interpretations (or perspectives).

Finally, as a matter of example, it also cites some of the verses of the Quran that appear similar
in meaning to the Gita's satanic verses, thereby drawing parallels between the two seemingly
antithetical religious texts. The work thus points out that although the Gita may not seem to be
as directly and explicitly terroristic as the Quran, terrorism— the one against unbelievers, for
instance— is equally inherent in the Gita and the Gita can be fairly interpreted as a book of
terrorism.

*" In this work, the term "satanic" is meant to be "morally bad and evil"; Ref. A. S. Hornby, Oxford
Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, 7th edition. OUP, 2005.

tft as it is usually known as, esp. in the West

5

The Criticism

1. Krishna — the preacher of yoga — is himself not a yogi

In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna is hailed several times as not only a yogi but also as the Lord (or
the God) of yoga, the great Lord of yoga, etc. 3 And he demands Arjuna, and in fact every other
mortal, to be a yogi, 4 while contradictorily enticing him with material prospects and benefits. 5
Krishna could not be considered a yogi basically because he claims to create the (painful) 6
manifested world (Vyakta Prakriti), 7 when, as a yogi, he, as Paramatman (i.e. Supreme Soul or
Supersoul), 8 would quite simply be expected to be content within himself (i.e. to be in the state
of self-realization), and not to have any desire, 9 including the desire for the action of creation,
as it seems absurd that there can be a conscious action without any underlying desire
whatsoever. Krishna is not the God of yoga but the "God of desire and hypocrisy" ! 10

In other words, the idea of Nishkam Karma (or desireless action; i.e. conscious action with no
underlying desire)— the principal tenet of Karma yoga— seems to be paradoxical and
unmeaning. Karma yoga may make sense only to the extent that an aspiring yogi attempts to be
as much desireless as possible while doing any conscious (material) action. Once the aspiring
yogi becomes a (true) yogi, it would be perfectly meaningful that he has no desire left in him
other than the desire for self-realization (Atma-sakshatkar) or God-realization (Krishna-
sokshotkor) and thus performs no conscious action other than the one which is essential for the
goal of self-realization or God-realization. The idea that Krishna is a true (or ultimate), self-
realized yogi is thus contradictory to the idea that he creates the manifested world as a Karma
yogi. Krishna's supposed (conscious) act of perpetual creation of the manifested world cannot
be without some underlying desire which is unworthy of a true yogi.

6

2. Krishna alone is satanic (or evil)

According to the Gita, it is Krishna who does everything, it is he who is responsible for every
good as well as evil that exists in the world, 11 and yet he proclaims to make it— the prospects of
yoga— worse for evil people, 12 asserts to annihilate miscreants, 13 while contradictorily 14
claiming to be the friend of every being. 15 *** Krishna alone possesses free-will. Krishna alone
creates delusion (or ignorance) and causes (unfathomable) suffering. Krishna— and Krishna
alone— is evil.

So, for example, the Gita in fact implies that it is Krishna who created Duryodhana, the
Mahabharata's arch-antagonist; it is Krishna who is the actual doer of each of his evil deeds;
and it is Krishna, and only Krishna, who prearranged the dreadful Kurukshetra War.

Sometimes it seems to be argued that Krishna lets pain and evil exist so that Man can
understand the value of good. I disagree with such argument. First of all, if self-realization or
God-realization is the only good, the only thing to be cherished, Krishna, the so called ultimate
yogi, should only let the state of self-realization exist (i.e. should only be in the state of self-
realization). It would be preposterous for a true yogi to be interested in anything other than
self-realization or God-realization. Secondly, it appears impossible to appreciate that the
unfathomable suffering in the "fatalistic" world exists just so that few "puppets" can
understand the "value" of God-realization. The eternally blissful state of God-realization would
in fact entail the understanding of its value irrespective of the way that state is attained. A
deterministic world in which a lion, for example, must make a living by killing a weaker animal
must be the work of an incalculable evil.

*** Verses with parallel meaning however seem to exist, for instance, in the Quran (or Koran) — the
central religious text of Islam — also. Please refer to the respective endnotes with text in italics for some
of the Quranic verses with parallel meaning. However, the text may not be citing a "complete" verse
whenever it is deemed unnecessary.

7

3. Krishna is nothing short of a terrorist and the Gita is Hindu terrorism

As per the Gita, a lot many modern women would be miscreants and thus would be on
Krishna's hit-list— threatened to death by him— since Krishna says that even women, vaisyas
(i.e. merchants), sudras (i.e. low-level workers), or any people of sinful birth go to the highest
goal, if they take his shelter; 16 he further says that then how much more righteous brahmanas
and devout King-sages!; 17 which means that Krishna does not consider women to belong to the
category of "righteous brahmanas"; 18 so women are either unrighteous brahmanas or not
brahmanas at all; if they are unrighteous brahmanas, they are unrighteous anyway, and if they
are not brahmanas at all, then the women who do the works of brahmanas— e.g. the works of
professional teachers— would be unrighteous, miscreants, for Krishna asks everyone from a
division to do work only assigned for their division. 19 It is in fact not only many of the modern
women but people of other faiths too— people who do not believe in Krishna— such as atheists,
Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc., that could be supposed to be threatened with death by
Krishna. 20 Krishna— especially for most of the modern people— is therefore nothing short of a
terrorist; and the Bhagavad-gita is "Hindu terrorism"! 21 22 23

8

Critical note
(Metaphysics & Morality)

1. If the monistic (Advaita) interpretation of the metaphysics (or the cosmology) of the
Gita is true, then anything other than God— the Paramatman (or the Supersoul)— is
unreal and does not exist. In that case, the last two criticisms would— at least to some
remarkable extent— lose their significance. 24

2. If the dualistic (Dvaita) interpretation of the Gita's metaphysics is true, 25 there are three
possibilities, since there can be three types of relevant 26 dualisms. 27

> Type A: Paramatman (i.e. the Supersoul), Brahman, and Atman (i.e. the soul) are
ontologically distinct realities. 28

> Type B: Only Paramatman and Brahman are ontologically distinct realities.

> Type C: Only Paramatman and Atman are ontologically distinct realities.

■ If Type A is true, then all of the criticisms appear pretty significant and valid, and
the Gita would be liable to be considered as an intrinsically— if not exclusively—
satanic text. 29

■ If Type B is true, then whether the Paramatman could be held guilty of deluding
the Brahman would depend partly upon the kind of experience the Brahman
undergoes, which, on the whole, may either be pleasant or unpleasant. 30

■ If Type C is true, then all of the criticisms would obviously have the same
significance as they would have if Type A were true.

The normal— or the commonsensical or the common man's— understanding of the metaphysics
of the Gita however appears to be broadly of the Type A, where "God"— i.e. Krishna— and
"mortals" are thought to be distinct beings. And therefore it is to that specific understanding
that this work would be most perfectly significant.

9

Abbreviations

(As used in the "References & Explanatory Notes")

AB. Annie Besant, The Bhagavad-Gita: The Lord's Song. The Theosophical Publishing House,
Adyar, Twentieth Reprint 2003.

ISBN: 81-7059-174-0.

AC. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita As It Is. The Bhaktivedanta Book
Trust, (Pocket edition) (English), 30 th printing, February 2011.

AN. Anand Neelakantan, Asura: Tale Of The Vanquished, The Story of Ravana and His People.
Platinum Press, 2012.
ISBN: 978-93-81576-05-2.

AN (2). Anand Neelakantan, Ajaya: Epic of the Kaurava Clan, Book I: Roll Of The Dice. Platinum
Press, December 2013.
ISBN: 978-93-81576-03-8.

AP. A. Parthasarathy, Bhagavad Gita. A. Parthasarathy (www.vedantaworld.org), 2008, 2011.
ISBN: 978-93-81094-03-7.

BD. Bibek Debroy, The Bhagavad Gita. Penguin Books India, 2005.
ISBN: 978-0-14-400068-5.

BR. Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian (1927); accessed via the Bertrand Russell Society
website .

BSM. Barbara Stoler Miller, The Bhagavad-Gita. Bantam Classic, June 2004.
ISBN: 978-0-553-21365-2.

CEW. Carl E. Woodham, Bhagavad Gita: The Song Divine. Pilgrims Publishing, 2003.
ISBN: 81-7769-168-6.

CH. Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great. Atlantic Books, 2008.
ISBN: 978-1-84354-810-2.

CNB. Christopher N Burchett, Introduction to the New Edition, in Bhagavad Gita by Charles
Johnston. Pilgrims Publishing, 2004.
ISBN: 81-7769-000-0.

10

CR. C. Rajagopalachari, Bhagavad Gita, 22 nd Edition. Bhavan's Book University, Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan, 2012.
ISBN: 81-7276-374-3.

DKJ. Dr. K. Jamanadas, Manusmruti Dahan Din . Ambedkar.org, Last modified: March 28, 2000.

DP. Devdutt Pattanaik, 7 Secrets of Vishnu, westland ltd, 2011.
ISBN: 978-93-80658-68-1.

DS. Dayanand Saraswati, Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research, Volume 19, Issue
1, year 2002, p. 73; accessed via the English Wikipedia article on Criticism of Islam, last modified on 23
February 2014, at 17:29.

EBV. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vishishtadvaita . Retrieved 16 February 2014.

EE. Eknath Easwaran, The Bhagavad Gita. Jaico Publishing House, Fifth Jaico Impression: 2013.
ISBN: 978-81-8495-090-8.

FE. Franklin Edgerton, The Bhagavad Gita. Motilal Banarsidass, 1996.
ISBN: 81-208-1149-6.

GD. Gurcharan Das, The Difficulty of Being Good. Penguin Books India, 2012.
ISBN: 978-0-143-41897-9.

GP. Geoffrey Parrinder, The Bhagavad Gita: A Verse Translation. Oneworld Publications, 2013.
ISBN: 978-1-85168-988-0.

GPG. Gita Press, Gorakhpur, Srimad Bhagavadgita. Sixth Reprint, 2011. (Code 1658).
ISBN: 81-293-1391-X.

GT. George Thompson, The Bhagavad Gita: a new translation. North Point Press, 2008.
ISBN: 978-0-86547-744-5.

JDS. John D. Smith, The Mahabharata. Penguin Classics, Penguin Books India, 2009.
ISBN: 978-0-670-08415-9.

JM. Juan Mascara, The Bhagavad Gita. Penguin Books India, 2009.
ISBN: 978-0-670-08416-6.

JMM. J. M. Macfie, Myths and Legends of India. Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd., Sixteenth
Impression 2011.
ISBN: 81-7167-131-4.

JRDL John R. de Lingen, The Bhagavad Gita: The Lord's Song. Sterling Paperbacks, 2009.
ISBN: 978-81-207-4742-5.

11

KK. Kim Knott, Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction. OUP, Reissued: 2000.
ISBN: 978-0-19-285387-5.

LLP. Laurie L. Patton, The Bhagavad Gita. Penguin Classics, 2008.
ISBN: 978-0-140-44790-3.

MD. Meghnad Desai, Who Wrote the Bhagavadgita? - A Secular Inquiry into a Sacred Text.
Harper Element, 2014.
ISBN: 978-93-5136-165-7.

NA. Namit Arora, The Bhagavad Gita Revisited . 3quarksdaily.com, 5 December 2011.

NJD. N. J. Dawood, The Koran. Penguin Classics, 50 th anniversary edition: 2006.
ISBN: 978-0-14-044920-4.

NKG. Nagappa K. Gowda, The Bhagavadgita in the Nationalist Discourse, Chapter 7: The Gita
and Ambedkar . OUP, 2011. (Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2012)
ISBN (Print): 9780198072065.

NP. Nalini Pandit, Ambedkar and the "Bhaqwat Gita" . Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 27,
No. 20/21 (May 16-23, 1992), pp. 1063-1065.

PS. Patrick Sookhdeo, The myth of moderate Islam . The Spectator, 30 July 2005.

PSI. Philip Schaff; Schaff, P., & Schaff, D. S. (1910). History of the Christian church. Third
edition. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Volume 4, Chapter III, section 40 "Position of
Mohammedanism in Church History"; accessed via the English Wikipedia article on Criticism of Islam,
last modified on 23 February 2014, at 17:29.

PY. Paramahansa Yogananda, God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita. Yogoda Satsanga
Society of India, 2011.
ISBN: 978-81-89535-00-1.

PY(2). Paramahansa Yogananda, The Divine Romance, Volume II. Yogoda Satsanga Society of
India, Fourth Impression: 2011.
ISBN: 978-81-89535-05-6.

RD. Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion. Black Swan, 2007.
ISBN: 978-0-552-77429-1.

RN. Ramendra Nath, Why I Am Not a Hindu. Bihar Rationalist Society (Bihar Buddhiwadi
Samaj), 1993; accessed via infidels.org .

12

RP. Ramananda Prasad, The Bhagavad-Gita (The Song of God). Motilal Banarsidass, 2010.
ISBN: 978-81-208-1390-8.

RR. Ranganath R, Bhaqavad Gita - Another critical perspective to consider adding to its armory
of refutation . Nirmukta, January 24, 2012.

SA. Sri Aurobindo, The Bhagavad Gita. Sri Aurobindo Divine Life Trust, Second Reprint: 2011.
ISBN: 81-86510-03-6.

SC. Swami Chinmayananda, The Holy Geeta. Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, May 2011.
ISBN: 978-81-7597-074-8.

SM. Stephen Mitchell, Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation. Three Rivers Press, New York, New
York, 2000.

ISBN: 978-0-609-81034-7.

SPCI. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, Bhagavad-Gita: The Song of God.
Signet Classics, July 2002.
ISBN: 978-0-451-52844-5.

SR. S. Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavadgita. HarperCollins Publishers India, 2010.
ISBN: 978-81-7223-898-8.

SRJA. Salman Rushdie, Joseph Anton: A Memoir. Vintage, 2013.
ISBN: 978-0-099-56344-0.

TROP. TheReligionofPeace.com, http://www.thereliaionofpeace.com/quran/023-violence.htm

WD. Wendy Doniger, On Hinduism. Aleph Book Company, 2013.
ISBN: 978-93-82277-07-1.

WDPH. W. Douglas P. Hill, The Bhagavadgita. OUP, 1973.
SBN: 19 560039 8.

WJ. W. J. Johnson, The Bhagavad Gita. Oxford World's Classics paperback 2004 (Reissued
2008).

ISBN: 978-0-19-953812-6.

13

References & Explanatory Notes

1 Rama, according to the Ramayana (i. 18), is 50% Vishnu— Ref. JMM. (Pg. Ill, 116).

2 AN. —in his Ravanayana— has, however, presented a quite unconventional viewpoint, with
Rovano as the hero.

3 E.g. Chapter 10: verse 17, Chapter 11: verse 4, Chapter 11: verse 9, Chapter 18: verse 78.

4 Ref. Chapter 6: verse 46 (SR.): The yogin is greater than the ascetic; he is considered to be
greater than the man of knowledge, greater than the man of ritual works, therefore do thou
become a yogin, O Arjuna. Chapter 2: verse 45 (WDPH.): The Vedas have three Strands for their
province; free from the three Strands, Arjuna, be thou, free from the pairs, abiding in eternal
truth, free from all gain and guardianship of wealth, and master of thy soul. Chapter 2: verse 48
(SR.): Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna), abandoning attachment, with an
even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga. Chapter 2: verse 61
(WDPH.): Holding all these in check let him sit, controlled, intent on me: for he whose senses
are restrained possesses steadfast wisdom. Chapter 14: verses 24-25 (WDPH.): He to whom
pain and pleasure are alike, reliant on himself, holding earth, stones, and gold as equal, holding
in level scales things dear and things not dear, a man of wisdom, to whom blame and praise are
one; He who holds honour and dishonour equal, equal the friendly party and the foe,
abandoning every enterprise— that man is said to have crossed beyond the Strands. Chapter 6:
verse 3 (SR.): Work is said to be the means of the sage who wishes to attain to yoga; when he
has attained to yoga, serenity is said to be the means. Chapter 6: verse 10 (SR.): Let the yogin
try constantly to concentrate his mind (on the Supreme Self) remaining in solitude and alone,
self-controlled, free from desires and (longing for) possessions.

{Karma-yoga is mere practice to attain to yoga; "the true yoga"— as SR. rightly calls it— is
Dhyana-yoga, for— quite logically— without desire, there cannot be any Karma (or work). In
other words, there is absolutely no reason for someone to do something if they have
absolutely no desire related to it. In a different perspective (or in a more fundamental or
theoretical sense), Dhyana-yoga is in fact a kind of Karma-yoga. When a Karma-yogi Ksatriya,
for example, has learnt to kill (or to get rid of) all of his desires pertaining to a Ksatriya, he is no
longer a Ksatriya; the nature of his Duty (or Karma), according to his changed nature (or
svabhava), has changed. Other than the work alone the body needs— presuming he would have
"desire" to maintain his body—, he would do no work. He, in a practical (or specific) sense,
would now be a Dhyana-yogi. If he still thinks that he should do the work/s of a Ksatriya—
maybe because the society of good men he thinks needs his protection— he, that means, has
simply not become a true yogi yet, for he is yet to surpass worldly desire/s. The reason Arjuna
finally decides to fight the war pretty much lies in 18:59-60 (WJ.): (Krishna says to Arjuna) If,
falling into such egoism, you suppose you will not fight, your resolution is quite pointless: your
material nature will constrain you. Bound by your own activity, which springs from your own
nature, ineluctably, Son of Kunti, you will do precisely what, in your delusion you try to avoid. In
18:73 (WJ.), however, Arjuna says: My delusion has been obliterated, and through your grace,

14

Achyuta, I have remembered myself. I stand, my doubt dispelled. I shall do as you say. This
verse is to be taken to mean that Arjuna's delusion has not been completely obliterated; his
(Ksatriya) nature, per 18:59-60, has not fully changed; and thus he should fight the war, as a
Karma-yogi, only in order to simply learn to get rid of material (or worldly) attachments, to
surpass his (Ksatriya) nature born of raja guna, to climb to higher (or true) yoga, which is his
true or only duty (or Dharma). 2:45 (AP.) is perhaps pretty relevant: The Vedas deal with the
three gunas (attributes). Be thou free, O Arjuna, from the three gunas, free from the pairs of
opposites, remain ever in sattva (purity), free from acquisition and preservation and
established in the Self. [AP.'s use of the term "sattva (purity)" is however not very accurate;
please consult WDPH (2:45); he more accurately uses the term "eternal truth".] 18:40 (AP.) is
however almost contradictory to 2:45: There is no being on earth nor even in heaven among
the gods who is free from these three gunas qualities born of prakrti matter. SA. (Pg. xxi-xxii)
says, 'it is a mistake to interpret the Gita from the standpoint of the mentality of today and
force it to teach us the disinterested performance of duty as the highest and all-sufficient law....
The Gita does not teach the disinterested performance of duties but the following of the divine
life, the abandonment of all Dharmas, sarvadharman, to take refuge in the Supreme alone...'
AB. (Pg. xi-xii) is thus pretty wrong in saying, 'It [the GTta] is meant to lift the aspirant from the
lower levels of renunciation, where objects are renounced, to the loftier heights where desires
are dead, and where the Yogi dwells in calm and ceaseless contemplation, while his body and
mind are actively employed in discharging the duties that fall to his lot in life. That the spiritual
man need not be a recluse, that union with the divine Life may be achieved and maintained in
the midst of worldly affairs, that the obstacles to that union lie not outside us but within us—
such is the central lesson of the Bhagavad-GTta.' KK. (Pg. 38) says, 'In more recent times, karma
and karma yoga have again been endorsed. Religious nationalists like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and
Mahatma Gandhi recommended karma yoga in India's struggle for self-rule and as a path of
self-realization for busy, modern Hindus.' Ironically, Tilak and Gandhi themselves, it appears,
were not karma-yogis, for just like any other freedom fighters, they always, it seems, wanted
their country to gain prosperity and independence. In other words, it seems they never even
attempted to get rid of that particular want (or to be indifferent to their country's state of
being); and that, I think, is because they, like many others including KK. herself, did not in the
first place know the very basic meaning of yoga itself. GPG. (Pg. 3) seems to say quite absurdly,
'Among all scriptural writings of the world, SrTmad BhagavadgTta occupies a unique place. As a
matter of fact, it is the only book which can be called secular in the real sense of the term. It is a
practical philosophy of living an ideal social life...'}

5 Ref. Chapter 2: verse 2 (SR.): Whence has come to thee this stain (this dejection) of spirit in
this hour of crisis? It is unknown to men of noble mind (not cherished by the Aryans); it does
not lead to heaven; (on earth) it causes disgrace, O Arjuna. Chapter 2: verses 32-37 (WDPH.):
Happy the Ksatriyas, O son of Pritha, who find a fight like this, that comes without their seeking!
It is heaven's gate thrown wide! But if thou wilt not wage this war, as duty bids, then wilt thou
cast aside thy duty and thine honour, and gather to thee guilt. Yea, and the world will tell of
thine imperishable dishonor: and for a knight of fame dishonour is worse than death. 'Tis fear
has held thee from the battle-so will the lords of great cars think; and where thou hast been

15

highly honoured thou wilt come to light esteem. And many words ill to speak will they speak
who wish thee hurt, and mock thy prowess. What can cause greater pain than this? Slain, thou
shalt win heaven; victorius, thou shalt enjoy the earth; therefore arise, O son of KuntT, with no
uncertain spirit for the fight! Chapter 11: verse 33 (WDPH.): Therefore arise, win glory, defeat
thy foes, enjoy wide sovereignty! I have already slain these men; be thou no more than a
means, left-handed bowman!

{It is almost funny how purely 2:32-37 are contradicted by 2:38! [2:38 (WDPH.): Hold equal
pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat; then gird thyself for the battle; thus shalt
thou not gather to thee guilt.]}

6 Ref. Chapter 8: verse 15 (FE.): Having come to Me, rebirth, Which is the home of misery and
impermanent, Do not attain the great-souled men That have gone to supreme perfection.
Chapter 9: verse 33 (SR.): How much more then, holy Brahmins and devoted royal saints;
Having entered this impermanent sorrowful world, do thou worship Me. Chapter 5: verse 22
(FE.): For the enjoyments that spring from (outside) contacts Are nothing but sources of misery;
They have beginning and end, son of KuntT; The wise man takes no delight in them.

7 Ref. Chapter 9: verses 7-8 (FE.): All beings, son of KuntT, Pass into My material nature At the
end of a world-eon; them again I send forth at the beginning of a (new) world-eon. Taking as
base My own material-nature I send forth again and again This whole host of beings, Which is
powerless, by the power of (My) material nature. Chapter 14: verses 3-4 (WDPH.): For me the
Great Brahman is a womb; therein I lay the germ; thence comes the birth of every being,
Bharata. Whatever forms take birth in any womb, O son of KuntT, of these the Great Brahman is
the womb, and I the Father that gives the seed.

{Citing 9:7-8 & 14:3-4, as references, is apparently contradicted by 4:14. [4:14 (WDPH.): Works
do not stain me, nor in me is there longing for fruit of works; who recognizes this to be my
state, he is not bound by works.] However, the appearance of the contradiction vanishes when
the falsity in 4:14 becomes apparent: that without any longing for fruit of works a creator
would not do work that creates a creation. The same would be true about 9:9. [9:9 (SR.): Nor
do these works bind Me, O winner of wealth (Arjuna), for I am seated as if indifferent,
unattached in those actions.] Why would he at all create a creation— Vyakta Prakriti— if he, to
that work, is unattached and indifferent? Similarly, in 3:22 (WDPH.), Krishna says, 'For me, O
son of Pritha, is no work at all in the three worlds that I must do; nor aught ungained that I
must gain; yet I abide in work.' In 3:23-24 (WDPH.), he says, 'For if I were not, tireless, to abide
ever in work— my path men follow altogether, son of Pritha— Did I not work my work, these
worlds would fall in ruin, and I should be the worker of confusion, and should destroy these
creatures.' 3:23-24, however, contradict 3:22 in that in the former Krishna makes it almost
explicit and clear that there is something that he must do; that there is a desire in him, the
desire that the three worlds should not fall in ruin, that the creatures should not be destroyed.
AP., like SPCI. (Pg. 157-159), seems to argue that the creation of the manifested world (Vyakta
Prakriti) is not a deliberate process born of desire but a mere automated or necessary process.
He (Pg. 555), in the commentary on 9:8, says, 'Manifold beings emanate repeatedly in the
world. Brahman (Krsna) declares Itself as the source of emanation. This phenomenon

16

resembles the emanation of waves in the ocean. A bucket of water produces no waves in it. Nor
does a pond of water. But the ocean of water automatically produces waves. That is the nature
(prakrti) of the ocean. Waves arise naturally from the ocean. The ocean can rightly declare that
the waves emanate from it helplessly over and over again. So does Brahman declare that beings
emanate from It endlessly. Brahman's inherent nature (prakrti) is to produce them.' The
absurdity in the analogy is however almost evident, since it is not the nature of the ocean to
produce waves, but it is usually "wind" that causes them. In other words, it is not necessary for
the ocean to produce waves. In even other words, it is not the inherent nature of the ocean to
produce waves; something external, something that is not the ocean is required for the
production (or emanation) of waves. AP. further says, 'Imagine a rope being mistaken for a
snake. The snake arising from a rope is an illusion. The illusion is a misapprehension of the rope.
The 'misapprehension' arises because of the 'non-apprehension' of the rope. When you do not
apprehend the rope as a rope, the non-apprehension of the rope becomes the cause for
creating several misapprehensions out of it. You could mistake the rope for a snake or any
other creature. The rope can declare that the potential for non-apprehension lies in it. As long
as a rope exists one may not apprehend it as a rope. The potential for non-apprehension lies in
the rope itself. The moment the rope is not apprehended, such non-apprehension becomes a
source of misapprehensions. This potential of non-apprehension inherent in the rope is
considered its nature (prakrti). Like the snake projected on a rope, the deluded project this
illusory world upon the Reality, Brahman. Just as one does not apprehend a rope, people do
not apprehend Brahman. Thus, the possibility of non-apprehension of Brahman lies in Brahman
Itself. Hence, Brahman declares non-apprehension, referred to as prakrti, as Its own nature.
The non-apprehension of Brahman produces several misapprehensions. The kaleidoscopic
patterns of beings appearing in the world are mere misapprehensions of Brahman. These
illusory projections will last as long as you do not apprehend Brahman. But the moment you
apprehend Brahman, all misapprehensions disappear, the worlds vanish.' Again, the flaw in the
analogy becomes evident when it is understood that it does not appear to be necessary for the
manifested world (Vyakta Prakriti)— whose existence necessitates the existence of the state of
delusion (or non-apprehension or misapprehension)— to at all actually exist, even though the
potential (or the possibility) may ever exist. The existence of the manifested world seems to be
an act of deliberate creation per 9:7-8 & 14:3-4. If it is not an act of deliberate creation,
however, then God (i.e. Krishna) would be reduced to some sort of a mere helpless machine
lacking any freewill.}

8 Ref. Chapter 13: verse 22 (FE.): The onlooker and consenter, The supporter, experience, great
Lord, The supreme soul also is declared to be The highest spirit, in this body. Chapter 15: verses
17-18 (FE.): But there is a highest spirit, other (than this), Called the Supreme Soul; Which,
entering into the three worlds, Supports them, the undying Lord. Since I transcend the
perishable, And am higher than the imperishable too, Therefore in the world and the Veda I am
Proclaimed as the highest spirit.

9 Ref. Chapter 2: verse 55 (FE.): When he abandons desires, All that are in the mind, son of
Prtha, Finding contentment by himself in the self alone, Then he is called of stabilized

17

mentality. Chapter 6: verse 18 (SR.): When the disciplined mind is established in the Self alone,
liberated from all desires, then is he said to be harmonized (in yoga).

10 RR. says, 'Anyone who makes a comparative study of the current state verses of the Gita,
devoid of religious blinkers, will find the character of Krishna coming across as very cynical,
evasive, inconsistent, shifting philosophical stances according to convenience, mixing ideas of
differing schools of thought at will (Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta) without any care or regard for
their cogency and coherence. How such an opportunistic and willful entity (seen together with
his role in the Mahabharata) be passed off as a God and that too raised to the towering heights
of religious and devotional frenzy, may forever remain one of the greatest enigmas of Hindu
culture.'

11 Ref. Chapter 3: verse 27 (SR.): While all kinds of work are done by the modes of nature, he
whose soul is bewildered by the self-sense thinks 'I am the doer'. Chapter 13: verse 29 (SR.): He
who sees that all actions are done only by nature (prakrti) and likewise that the self is not the
doer, he verily sees. Chapter 3: verse 5 (SR.): For no one can remain even for a moment without
doing work; every one is made to act helplessly by the impulses born of nature. Chapter 3:
verse 33 (WDPH.): As is a man's own nature, so he acts, even a man of knowledge; all creatures
follow Nature; what will restraint effect? Chapter 9: verse 10 (SR.): Under My guidance, nature
(prakrti) gives birth to all things, moving and unmoving and by this means, O Son of KuntT
(Arjuna), the world revolves. Chapter 18: verse 61 (FE.): Of all beings, the Lord In the heart
abides, Arjuna, Causing all beings to turn around (As if) fixed in a machine, by his magic power.
Chapter 15: verse 15 (WDPH.): And I am seated in the heart of all; from me are memory,
knowledge, and removal of doubt; by all the Vedas am I to be known; and I am he who made
the Vedas' Ends, and know the Vedas. Chapter 10: verses 4-5 (WDPH.): Discernment,
knowledge, freedom from delusion, long-suffering, truth, restraint, tranquillity, pleasure and
pain, existence, non-existence, fear and fearlessness, Harmlessness, an even mind,
contentment, austerity, beneficence, fame, and infamy— such are the states of beings, severally
dispensed by me alone. Chapter 7: verse 12 (WDPH.): Know that those states of Purity, of
Energy, and of Darkness are from me alone; but I am not in them; they are in me. Chapter 13:
verses 21-22 (WDPH.): For the Person, abiding in Nature, experiences the Strands born of
Nature; his attachment to the Strands is the cause of his birth in good or evil wombs. The
Supreme Person in this body is called the spectator, the approver, the sustainer, the
experiencer, Great Lord, and also Highest Self.

[WDPH. (pg. 48) says, 'Freedom, in the Gita, is an illusory liberty of choice, working within the
bounds of an ultimate determinism'. GD., however, like quite a few others not mentioned in
this work, seems to (wrongly) believe in human freewill in the Gita. He (Pg. 208) says, 'I believe
that the problem of evil exists only if one believes that God is all-powerful and benign. This may
not hold true in the Mahabharata. Krishna seems to be suggesting that all of life is subject to
the law of karma. A person is free to act, but once the deed is done, no one can stop its
relentless consequences. Even God cannot interfere.' EE. (Pg. 67) too wrongly says, 'the Gita
places human destiny entirely in human hands. Its world is not deterministic, but neither is it an
expression of blind chance: we shape ourselves and our world by what we believe and think

18

and act on, whether for good or for ill. In this sense the Gita opens not on Kurukshetra but on
dharmakshetra, the field of dharma, where Arjuna and Krishna are standing for us all.' DP. (Pg.
181) seems to be mistaken too. He says, 'Krishna does not fight in this war. He serves only as
charioteer and guide. He can only encourage; action is left to the Pandavas. It is their battle,
their action, their decision.' And so does PY(2). He (Pg. 306-07) says, 'you are born with about
seventy-five percent of your life predetermined by you past. You will make up the remaining
twenty-five percent. If you yourself, through your own free choice and effort of will, do not
determine what that twenty-five percent will be, the seventy-five percent will make the
twenty-five percent for you, and you will become a puppet. That is, you will be ruled absolutely
by your past, by the influence and effects of your past tendencies.' KK. (Pg. 39) says, 'It is easy
to be fatalistic about this state of affairs, and many Hindu teachers, following Krishna's example
in the Bhagavad-gita, have offered spiritual recipes for tackling it. Arvind Sharma's
contemporary solution goes as follows. To think fatalistically about karma is unhelpful when, in
fact, as human beings we have the power at any moment to change our own behaviour, and
thus its consequences for our future. Free will rather than fatalism characterizes the operation
of karma.' It well might be free will that characterizes karma, but it is not human free will but
the divine one, for the former does not seem to exist according to the Gita.]
The Quranic verses with parallel meaning: NJD. (Pg. 59): God has sovereignty over the heavens
and the earth. God has power over all things. NJD. (Pg. 12): Indeed, if God pleased, He could
take away their hearing and their sight: God has power over all things. NJD. (Pg. 78): God has
knowledge of all things.

[The meaning is perhaps not so parallel in this particular case though, since these verses do not
necessarily indicate ultimate determinism.]

12 Ref. Chapter 7: verse 15 (WDPH.): Not in me take refuge evildoers, fools, lowest of men;
bereft of knowledge by delusion, turned to Devilish estate. Chapter 7: verse 25 (WDPH.): Veiled
by my power of delusion, I am not light to all; deluded is this world, and does not recognize me
as unborn, immutable. Chapter 9, verse 12 (WDPH.): Vain of hope are they, vain of work, vain
of knowledge, void of wit; they enter the delusive nature of Monsters and of Devils. Chapter
16: verses 19-20 (SR.): These cruel haters, worst of men, I hurl constantly these evil-doers only
into the wombs of demons in (this cycle of) births and deaths. Fallen into the wombs of
demons, these deluded beings from birth to birth, do not attain to Me, O Son of KuntT (Arjuna),
but go down to the lowest state.

[In 4:36 (SR.), Krishna (contradictorily) says, 'Even if thou shouldst be the most sinful of all
sinners, thou shalt cross over all evil by the boat of wisdom alone'. In 9:30-31 (SR.), he similarly
says, 'Even if a man of the most vile conduct worships me with undistracted devotion, he must
be reckoned as righteous for he has rightly resolved. Swiftly does he become a soul of
righteousness and obtain lasting peace. O son of KuntT (Arjuna), know thou for certain that My
devotee perishes never'. Well, does Krishna at all give them any chance?]
The Quranic verses: NJD. (Pg. 11-12): As for the unbelievers, it is the same whether or not you
forewarn them; they will not have faith. God has set a seal upon their hearts and ears; their
sight is dimmed and grievous punishment awaits them.... There is a sickness in their hearts
which God has aggravated: they shall be sternly punished for the lies they ever told.... God will

19

mock them and keep them long in sin, ever straying from the right path.... They are like one who
kindled afire, but as soon as it lit up all around him God put it out and left him in darkness: they
do not see. Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will never return to the right path. NJD. (Pg. 38): As for
the unbelievers, their patrons are false gods, who lead them from light to darkness. They are the
heirs of the Fire and shall abide in it for ever.... God does not guide the evil-doers. NJD. (Pg. 39):
God does not guide the unbelievers. NJD. (Pg. 76): It is God who has sealed their hearts, on
account of their unbelief. They have no faith, except a few of them. NJD. (Pg. 195): God will not
guide those who disbelieve God's revelations. Woeful punishment awaits them.... God does not
guide the unbelievers. Such are those whose hearts and ears and eyes are sealed by God; such
are the heedless. In the life to come they will surely be the losers. NJD. (Pg. 75): The hypocrites
shall be cast into the lowest depths of the Fire: there shall be none to help them. NJD. (Pg. 77):
God will not forgive those who disbelieve and act unjustly; nor will He guide them to any path
other than the path of Hell, wherein they shall abide for ever. Surely that is easy enough for
God. NJD. (Pg. 75): Those who accept the Faith and then renounce it, who again embrace it and
again deny it and grow in unbelief- God will neither forgive them nor will rightly guide them....
God will surely gather in Hell the hypocrites and the unbelievers all.... The hypocrites seek to
deceive God, but it is He who deceives them.... You cannot guide the man whom God has
confounded.

[NJD. (Pg. 83): Those that make war against God and His apostle and spread disorder in the land
shall be slain or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished
from the land. They shall be held up to shame in this world and sternly punished in the
hereafter: except those that repent before you reduce them. For you must know that God is
forgiving and merciful.... But whoever repents after committing evil, and mends his ways, shall
be pardoned by God. God is forgiving and merciful. NJD. (Pg. 129): Tell the unbelievers that if
they mend their ways their past shall be forgiven...]

13 Ref. Chapter 4: verse 8 (FE.): For protection of the good, And for destruction of evil-doers, To
make a firm footing for the right, I come into being in age after age.

The Quranic verses: NJD. (Pg. 54): If you have suffered a defeat, so did the enemy. We alternate
these vicissitudes among mankind so that God may know the true believers and choose martyrs
from among you (God does not love the evil-doers); and that God may test the faithful and
annihilate the infidels.

14 FE. (Vol. 2; Pg. 91) rightly says that the GTta makes no attempt to be logical or systematic in
its philosophy. GT. (Pg. xlvii) says that the text [the GTta] contains so many apparent layers and
internal contradictions. RR. says, 'I was struck by the following inconsistencies that were fairly
predominant in the scripture [the Gita]: Repetitiveness and redundancy of many of its verses;
Contradictions in many of its verses, with some verses in the same chapter contradicting each
other and verses in one chapter being negated by verses in another chapter; Lack of coherence
of narrative between the verses in a chapter, verses disconnected from or having no relation to
the primary idea of a chapter; Lack of orderliness in the sequencing of chapters, where one gets
a feeling that the current Chapter IV should have come before Chapter III; Inclusion of verses
that are repugnant to human values even going by old primitive standards (verses 9.11, 9.32

20

and 9.33).' MD. (Pg. 80) says, 'It is my argument that the Gita as it finally came to us is the
result of many additions to what could have been a small original fragment, if there was one at
all.' MD. (Pg. 132) also says, 'a) There are probably multiple authors of the Gita as shown by
stylistic changes and the frequent shift of subject matter; b) There was probably an original
short, sharp lesson for Arjuna by Krishna assuming that these were historical characters as
described in the Mahabharata'. WJ. (Pg. x) says, 'The Mahabharata, the great Epic which
provides the Gita with its literary context, has no single author (if one discounts the mythical
Vyasa). It belongs to an oral tradition that may have its origins in the eighth or ninth century
BCE. Succeeding generations of reciter-poets added to, expanded on, and elaborated the basic
material, which tells of a cataclysmic war between two branches of the same family and their
followers. Like a snowball, the epic picked up and incorporated all the important religious,
philosophical, and social changes through which it passed, often juxtaposing layers with little or
no attempt at reconciliation. Nevertheless, certain themes, because they had come to
preoccupy Indian religion and culture generally, began to dominate its 'poetical history': the
question of what constitutes Dharma or the Law (the way things really are and therefore the
way they should be), how men and women can acquire knowledge of that truth, and how they
should act in relation to it.' BD. (Pg. xii-xiii) says, 'There is no reason to presume that the Gita
had a single author. The Gita is a text that synthesizes and incorporates many teachings of the
Upanishads. In fact, many shlokas from the Upanishads are found in the Gita, with minor
changes. Attempts have been made to detect internal inconsistencies across parts that
represent bhakti or theism and parts that draw on Vedanta and are pantheistic. Or between
parts that draw on Vedanta and others that draw on sankhya philosophy. However, these
attempts are not terribly convincing. And there are also some shlokas that are clearly old,
because they follow grammatical norms that would later have been regarded as not quite
correct.' JM. (Pg. 23), however, says, 'Scholars differ as to the date of the Bhagavad Gita; but as
the roots of this great poem are in Eternity the date of its revelation in time is of little spiritual
importance. As there are no references to Buddhism in the Gita and there are a few archaic
words and expressions, some of the greatest scholars have considered it pre-Buddhistic, i.e.
about 500 B.C. The Sanskrit of the Bhagavad Gita is, on the whole, simple and clear, like the
oldest parts of the Mahabharata. This could be added as an argument for an early date; but the
value of a spiritual scripture is its value to us here and now, and the real problem is how to
translate its light into life.' SM. (Pg. 29-30), with apparent wisdom, says, 'The most profound
sacred texts have a way of self-destructing. They undermine their own authority and gleefully
hoist themselves with their own petard. Because they don't confuse what they are with what
they are about, they encourage us to see them as, in the end, disposable.... We need to take
these sacred texts with ultimate seriousness. But the tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
If we take them too seriously, they become obstacles rather than means of liberation.' JRDL
(Pg. xxii) seems to be clearly mistaken in saying 'It is marvellous that with this variety of
stratification, the Unity of the GITA should be so perfect. It is no less wonderful, that ancient as
it is, and touching as it does on a great range of subjects, there is in it no discoverable error - be
it cosmological or other.'

21

CH. (Pg. 133) says, 'As might be expected, it [Islam] contains many internal contradictions. It is
often cited as saying that "there is no compulsion in religion," and as making reassuring noises
about those of other faiths being peoples "of the book" or "followers of an earlier revelation.'"
PS. says, 'By far the majority of Muslims today live their lives without recourse to violence, for
the Koran is like a pick-and-mix selection. If you want peace, you can find peaceable verses. If
you want war, you can find bellicose verses. You can find verses which permit only defensive
jihad, or you can find verses to justify offensive jihad.'

15 Ref. Chapter 5: verse 29 (WDPH.): Knowing that it is I whom sacrifice and austerity affect,
great Lord of all the worlds, the friend of every being, he reaches peace. In Chapter 9: verse 29
(SR.), Krishna again contradictorily says, 'I am the same in (alike to) all beings. None is hateful
nor dear to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion they are in Me and I also in them.'
The Quranic verses: NJD. (Pg. 39, 40): God is munificent and all-knowing. NJD. (Pg. 71): Surely
God is forgiving and merciful. NJD. (Pg. 76): God is forgiving and all-powerful. NJD. (Pg. 74): God
is munificent and wise.

DS. says, 'Had the God of the Quran been the Lord of all creatures, and been Merciful and kind
to all, he would never have commanded the Mohammedans to slaughter men of other faiths,
and animals, etc. If he is Merciful, will he show mercy even to the sinners? If the answer be given
in the affirmative, it cannot be true, because further on it is said in the Quran "Put infidels to
sword, " in other words, he that does not believe in the Quran and the Prophet Mohammad is an
infidel (he should, therefore, be put to death). (Since the Quran sanctions such cruelty to non-
Mohammedans and innocent creatures such as cows) it can never be the Word of God.'

16 Ref. Chapter 9: verse 32 (SR.): For those who take refuge in Me, O Partha (Arjuna), though
they are lowly born, women, Vaisyas, as well as Sudras, they also attain to the highest goal.

17 Ref. Chapter 9: verse 33 (FE.): How much more virtuous brahmans, And devout royal seers,
too! A fleeting and joyless world This; having attained it, devote thyself to Me.

18 SM. (Pg. 35) says, 'The poet of the Gita, on the other hand, was writing mostly for priests
(brahmins) and warriors; according to his cultural preconceptions, rebirth as a woman is a
stroke of rotten karma, which can indeed be overcome, but only with wholehearted devotion.
(The literal meaning of 9.32 is "Those who take refuge in me, Arjuna, / even if they are born in
evil wombs / as women or laborers or servants, / also reach the supreme goal.")'

The Quranic verses: NJD. (Pg. 33): Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields whence you
please.

19 Ref. Chapter 18: verses 47-48 (WDPH.): Better a man's own duty, though ill-done, than
another's duty well-performed; if a man do the duty his own nature bids him, he incurs no
stain. One's innate duty, son of KuntT, should one not abandon, imperfect though it be; for
every enterprise in imperfection is involved, as fire in smoke.

22

20 [Ref. Chapter 16: verses 6-9 (WDPH.): There are two orders of created beings in this world,
the Divine and the Devilish; the Divine order has been described at length; of the Devilish, O
son of Pritha, hear from me. Neither action nor inaction do Devilish men know; cleanness is not
in them; nor even right conduct nor truth. 'Without truth, without basis, is the universe,' they
say, 'and without Lord; born of mutual union, caused by lust— naught else!' Holding this view,
lost souls of feeble judgement, they come forth with cruel deeds as enemies to destroy the
world.]

Now, as we have seen previously, according to 4:8 (FE.), for protection of the good, and for
destruction of evil-doers, to make a firm footing for the right, Krishna comes into being in age
after age. Thus, this is how Krishna has threatened, with death, the atheists, i.e. the ones who
say that the universe is without Lord, the ones who, according to him, come forth with cruel
deeds as enemies to destroy the world. Further, Krishna, in 9:11 (WDPH.) says, 'Fools scorn me
when I dwell in human form: my higher being they know not as Great Lord of beings.' In 9:12
(FE.), he says, 'They are of vain aspirations, of vain actions, Of vain knowledge, bereft of insight;
In ogrish and demoniac Nature, which is delusive, they abide.' In 9:13 (SR.), he says, 'The great-
souled, O Partha(Arjuna), who abide in the divine nature, knowing (me as) the imperishable
source of all beings, worship Me with an undistracted mind.' Thus are threatened with death
the remaining ones, i.e. Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc., who do not believe in Krishna, who he
would consider to be of demoniac nature, the evil-doers, and per 4:8, would be annihilated age
after age!

The Quranic verses: NJD. (Pg. 129): Make war on them [the unbelievers] until idolatry shall
cease and God's religion shall reign supreme. NJD. (Pg. 133): When the sacred months are over
slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush
everywhere for them. NJD. (Pg. 131): Let not the unbelievers think that they will ever get away.
They have not the power so to do. Muster against them all the men and cavalry at your
command, so that you may strike terror into the enemy of God and your enemy, and others
besides them who are unknown to you but known to God. NJD. (Pg. 127): God revealed His will
to the angels, saying: 7 shall be with you. Give courage to the believers. I shall cast terror into
the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers!'
TROP. says, 'The Quran contains at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers
for the sake of Islamic rule. Some are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and
fingers and kill infidels wherever they may be hiding. Muslims who do not join the fight are
called 'hypocrites' and warned that Allah will send them to Hell if they do not join the slaughter.
Unlike nearly all of the Old Testament verses of violence, the verses of violence in the Quran are
mostly open-ended, meaning that they are not restrained by the historical context of the
surrounding text. They are part of the eternal, unchanging word of Allah, and just as relevant or
subjective as anything else in the Quran.' PS. says, 'So the mantra 'Islam is peace' is almost
1,400 years out of date. It was only for about 13 years that Islam was peace and nothing but
peace. From 622 onwards it became increasingly aggressive, albeit with periods of peaceful co-
existence, particularly in the colonial period, when the theology of war was not dominant. For
today's radical Muslims — just as for the mediaeval jurists who developed classical Islam — it
would be truer to say 'Islam is war'. One of the most radical Islamic groups in Britain, al-
Ghurabaa, stated in the wake of the two London bombings, 'Any Muslim that denies that terror

23

is a part of Islam is kafir.' A kafir is an unbeliever (i.e., a non-Muslim), a term of gross insult. In
the words of Mundir Badr Haloum, a liberal Muslim who lectures at a Syrian university,
'Ignominious terrorism exists, and one cannot but acknowledge its being Islamic.' While many
individual Muslims choose to live their personal lives only by the (now abrogated) peaceable
verses of the Koran, it is vain to deny the pro-war and pro-terrorism doctrines within their
religion.' RD. (Pg. 58) says, 'Several centuries later, Muhammad and his followers reverted to
the uncompromising monotheism of the Jewish original, but not its exclusiveness, and founded
Islam upon a new holy book, the Koran or Qur'an, adding a powerful ideology of military
conquest to spread the faith. Christianity, too, was spread by the sword, wielded first by Roman
hands after the Emperor Constantine raised it from eccentric cult to official religion, then by the
Crusaders, and later by the conquistadores and other European invaders and colonists, with
missionary accompaniment.' [PSI., however, says, 'Mohammedanism conquered the fairest
portions of the earth by the sword and cursed them by polygamy, slavery, despotism and
desolation. The moving power of Christian missions was love to God and man; the moving
power of Islam was fanaticism and brute force.' BR., though, popularly says, 7 say quite
deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the
principal enemy of moral progress in the world.']

My point is that although the Gita may not seem to be as directly and explicitly terroristic as
the Quran, terrorism is equally inherent in the Gita and the Gita can be fairly interpreted as a
book of terrorism.

21 This, of course, does not mean that anyone who preaches the Bhagavad-gita is necessarily a
terrorist (or an accomplice of a terrorist), for they may be completely unaware of the terroristic
message hidden in the Gita. If addressing Krishna as satanic (or evil or a terrorist) and the Gita
as terrorism however offends anybody or hurts anyone's sentiments or feelings, then I would
like to say that addressing cigarette smoking, for example, as bad or dangerous or evil may in
the same way hurt some cigarette lover's feelings; and it— i.e. addressing cigarette smoking as
such— is nevertheless found legally and socially acceptable and is justified if the addresser could
be presumed to have no ultimate intentions to hurt anyone's feelings.

22 JDS. (Pg. xiii) says, 'Nowadays most Hindus would probably identify the Bhagavadgita (the
name is often shortened to just Gita) as their most inspirational scripture...' GP. (Pg. vii) says,
'The Bhagavad Gita, the Song (Gita) of the Lord (Bhagavat), is the most famous Indian poem and
scripture. To many Hindus it is their chief devotional book, and in modern times interest in its
religious and philosophical teaching has spread across the world.' BSM. (Pg. 1) says, 'The
Bhagavad-Gita has been the exemplary text of Hindu culture for centuries, both in India and in
the West.' CNB. (Pg. 3) says, 'The Bhagavad-Gita, also termed as the Bible of the Hindus, has
been an eternal source of inspiration for the people of India for centuries.' BD. (Pg. ix) says, 'If
there is one text that captures the essence of Hinduism, it is the Gita or, more accurately, the
Bhagavad Gita.' PY. (Pg. xvii) says, 'The Bhagavad Gita is the most beloved scripture of India, a
scripture of scriptures. It is the Hindu's Holy Testament, or Bible, the one book that all masters
depend upon as a supreme source of scriptural authority.' SC. (Pg. 1) says, 'This great handbook
of practical living [the Geeta] marked a positive revolution in Hinduism and inaugurated a Hindu

24

renaissance for the ages that followed the Puranic Era.' RP. (Pg. xxii) says, 'The Lord Himself
resides where Gita is kept, read, chanted, or taught.' LLP. (Pg. xxx-xxxi) says, 'In America,
Europe and Africa, too, the Gita has also had a powerful influence among Hindu diaspora
communities, and is understood as a foundational guide for life. Most Hindu students in
classrooms today have encountered the Gita at home. Many of the Hindu temples that
decorate the diaspora landscape, especially in urban centres such as London, Atlanta,
Pittsburgh and Birmingham, regularly hold classes on the Gita's message for today. Many such
temples also hold Gita recitation contests for young students.' She (Pg. xxxiii) further says,
'India and the Gita now occupy a place on the global technological and economic stage. 'Hindu'
readers are not simply Indian readers, but also American, British, Kenyan, Trinidadian, Canadian
and South American readers, just to name a few. Students within diaspora settings do not go
about their lives with a Hindu culture around them; frequently, the Gita is one of their few
vehicles for learning Hindu perspectives.' CR. (Pg. 9), however, says, 'It is a matter for great
regret that the young men and women of our Universities know very much less about the Gita
and the principles of Hindu religion than the undergraduates of European Universities know
about the Bible and the principles of the Christian faith.'

23 B. R. Ambedkar— who is widely hailed as the father of the Indian Constitution— had, it
appears, strong views against the Gita. NKG. says, 'Ambedkar always felt that the Gita could
never form the moral foundation of the nation. To him, the Gita espoused violence and the
varna system. Instead he proposed Buddhism as the alternative to the Gita.' NP. says,
'According to Ambedkar the Bhagwat Gita is neither a book of religion nor a treatise on
philosophy. What the Bhagwat Gita does is to defend certain dogmas of religion on philosophic
grounds. It is a philosophic defence of the counter-revolution.' B. R. Ambedkar also seems to be
known for publicly burning Manusmrti. DKJ. says, 'Today is Christmas, 25th of December. It is
celebrated all over the Christian world as the birth of Jesus Christ. But for the whole world of
Dalits, it is an important day as "Manu Smruti Dahan Din", as it was on this day in 1927 that
Manusmruti was publicly burned by Dr. Ambedkar, during the "Maha-Sangharsha" of Mahad
Satyagraha, and is an important mile stone in Dalit struggle against Brahmanism. Let us all
remember this day with pride.' In 1990, B. R. Ambedkar was posthumously awarded the Bharat
Ratna — India's highest civilian award. (Ref. List of Recipients of Bharat Ratna, Ministry of Home
Affairs, Government of India.)

NA. says that the Bhagavad Gita is an overrated text with a deplorable morality at its core. MD.
(Pg. 166) says, 'India's many problems need an all out effort on social, cultural and political
levels by its citizens. Indians need to cultivate an ethics of equal respect for all human beings
and mutual respect for all. We need to be concerned about the welfare of our neighbours and
fellow citizens rather than just ourselves. We need to guard against philosophies, no matter
what sources they may claim to emanate from, which guide us towards selfish and socially
irresponsible behaviour. It may be time to read the Gita more critically than we have done
hitherto.' On the back cover of the MD.'s book, the publisher says, 'In Who Wrote the
Bhagavadgita?, economist and public intellectual Meghnad Desai offers a humanist critique of
the Gita. Its message, he argues, is casteist and misogynist, addressing only men in the top two
varnas and referring to women only in passing and then in scorn, and as such profoundly in

25

opposition to the spirit of modern India. Provocative and scholarly, this book challenges every
popular notion of the Gita.' LLP. (Pg. xxix) says, 'During one period of resistance to colonial rule,
anyone with more than one copy of the Gita in his possession was considered a terrorist against
the state.'— though this is probably quite irrelevant to the essential argument of this work. WD.
(Pg. 123) says, 'he [Swami Vivekananda] believed that physical culture, of the European variety,
was essential for Indian youth, and he is said to have held the view that one can get closer to
god through football than through the Bhagavad Gita.'

RN.— about Hinduism, in general— says, 'Slavery is not peculiar to India or to Hinduism, but
carrying it to the extremes of untouchability, and granting it divine and religious sanction is
peculiar to Hinduism. Similarly, some Hindus may be tolerant, just as some of them are
intolerant, but Hinduism or Hindu religion is not tolerant at all, either socially or intellectually.
Manusmriti, for example, clearly says that anybody who argues critically and logically about
dharmashastras ought to be ostracized. Non-believers, including freethinkers, rationalists and
Buddhists, are not to be entertained respectfully as guests; though, mercifully, they may be
given food. The families of non-believers are destroyed sooner than later according to Manu. A
state with a large number of Shudras and nastikas soon meets its destruction. Manusmriti is full
of abusive epithets for freethinkers and non-believers. The unorthodox (nastikas) are
sometimes equated with the Shudras, sometimes with the Chandalas, sometimes with thieves
and sometimes with lunatics! Such is the generosity of Hindu dharma.' AN (2). (Pg. 7)— about
Mahabharata, in general— says, '...It made me rush home to revisit the Mahabharata, an epic
that has inspired countless writers over the centuries. Once I started viewing the Kaurava Prince
through the eyes of the villagers of Poruvazhy, a different picture of Duryodhana began to
emerge - far removed from the scheming, roaring, arrogant villain of popular television serials
and traditional retellings. Instead, here was a brutally honest Prince, brave and self-willed,
willing to fight for what he believed in. Duryodhana never believed his Pandava cousins to be of
divine origin; and to modern minds, their outlandish claim now sounds chillingly similar to
present-day political propaganda used to fool a gullible public' SRJA. (Pg. 354)— about Hindu
extremism— says, 'In India, extremist Hindus destroyed one of the oldest mosques in India, the
Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, built by the first Mughal emperor. The destroyers claimed that the
mosque was built over the ruins of a Hindu temple marking the Ramjanmabhoomi, the
birthplace of Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu. Mayhem was not the prerogative of
Islam alone. When he [i.e. Salman Rushdie himself] heard the news of the destruction of the
Babri Masjid he was possessed by a complex grief. He was sad that religion had again revealed
that its power for destruction far exceeded its power for good, that a series of unprovable
propositions - that the modern Ayodhya was the same place as the Ayodhya of the Ramayana
where Rama was king at an unknowable date in the remote past; that the alleged birthplace
was the true birthplace; that gods and their avatars actually existed - had resulted in the
vandalisation of an actual and beautiful building whose misfortune was to have been
constructed in a country that passed no strong laws to protect its heritage, and in which it was
possible to ignore such laws as did exist if you were sufficiently numerous and claimed to be
acting in the name of a god.'

26

24 According to the monistic interpretation, the world is nothing but a dream of God. When a
mortal living being, a man, for example, suffers, it is in fact God who, in his dream, suffers.
When, at the same time, some other living being, some other man, for example, rejoices, it is in
fact God who rejoices. I, Kedar Joshi, am thus nothing but one of the dreams God is having at
present. And the Gita would ask me, i.e. the soul dwelling in Kedar Joshi's body— which, the
body, is a miserable and ephemeral unreality— to get out of the dream, i.e. to understand its
true nature, to know that it, the soul, is the same as the permanent reality called the Supersoul,
i.e. God. And this knowledge or understanding is called self-realization. In that way, though the
God in the Bhagavad Gita is responsible for causing unfathomable grief and suffering, he could
not be held responsible for making anyone else suffer, since no one else in fact at all exists. And
therefore the God in the Bhagavad Gita looks less like a Satan and more like a madman, for
causing himself so much unhappiness for no rational reason. Let me explain it in a different
way. Suppose you are having an experience of seeing a blue coloured thing and a red coloured
thing simultaneously in your dream. According to the Bhagavad Gita, whatever experience any
living being is having at any given time is in fact nothing but a part of what God is experiencing
in his dream. In other words, one man having an experience of seeing a blue coloured thing and
another man having an experience of seeing a red coloured thing at the same time in what is
normally thought to be "reality" is actually nothing but God's experience of seeing a blue
coloured thing and a red coloured thing simultaneously in his dream. The ephemeral world is
thus nothing but God's dream. God creates a world just by deliberately going into a dream and
destroys it by coming out of the dream. He then creates another world by going into another
dream, and so on. God is therefore unlikely to be considered morally blemished or "satanic",
since each and every painful and evil experience that ever exists in reality is God's own
experience alone, not of anyone else, as no one except God exists. [It would have to be
conceded though that if God were a yogi, there would be no pain, since no painful state/s of
consciousness would ever exist. God is therefore blamable for letting the unfathomable pain
exist.] However, whether God, i.e. the God in the Gita, could be considered "sane" or "insane"
in doing all this is probably a highly interesting and open question though. And it is very
essential to understand that the God in the Bhagavad Gita is the non-spatial "Supersoul", not
any "spatial"— of or relating to space— entity such as Krishna or Vishnu. The Supersoul only
imagines or thinks of itself as Vishnu in its dream state. Vishnu is thus not a reality but a mere
part of the divine dream or illusion. The Supersoul is the only real thing that exists; and it has
freewill, the mechanics of which appears to be inconceivable to mankind. Individual souls are
nothing but mere states of consciousness that altogether constitute the Supersoul's dreaming
experience.

"which, per 8:20-21 and 15:17-18 appears to be likely. 8:20-21 (SR.): But beyond this
unmanifested, there is yet another Unmanifested Eternal Being who does not perish even when
all existences perish. This Unmanifested is called the Imperishable. Him they speak of as the
Supreme Status. Those who attain to Him return not. That is My supreme abode. [For 15:17-18,
please consult Note 8.]

27

{However, the meaning of these verses does not have to be literal; it could be metaphorical;
and hence the terms "Brahman" and "Atman" may still be purely conceptual, meant merely as
abstractions.}

26 There is an (irrelevant) dualism which holds that Nature (or the material world) is an
ontologically distinct reality. It is "irrelevant" because since Nature has no capacity to feel or to
have any state/s of consciousness [it is the soul (or the Person) that in fact supposedly does
(Ref. 13:20)], whether it— the material world— is real or unreal is not pertaining to a criticism
that criticizes "moral" foundations. This irrelevant dualism appears to be false too, for in 2:14-
16 (WDPH.), Krishna says, 'The touching of the world of sense, O son of KuntT, which bring cold
and heat, pleasure and pain— these come and go, impermanent; endure them, Bharata. For he
whom these do not disturb and to whom pain and pleasure are alike, that steadfast man, O
prince of men, is fit for deathlessness. Of what is not there is no being, and no not-being of
what is; and of these two is seen the boundary by seers of the truth.'

27 In a broader and technically more accurate sense, Type A is in fact "pluralism".

28 AC. (Pg. 16), however, says, 'It is also explained in the Gita that impersonal Brahman is also
subordinate to the complete Supreme Person (brahmano hi pratisthaham). Brahman is more
explicitly explained in the Brahma-sutra to be like the rays of the sunshine. The impersonal
Brahman is the shining rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Impersonal Brahman is
incomplete realization of the absolute whole, and so also is the conception of Paramatma. In
the Fifteenth Chapter it shall be seen that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Purusottama, is
above both impersonal Brahman and the partial realization of Paramatma.' CEW. (Pg. xi) says,
'Nonetheless, in their confusion some assert that Bhagavad-gita teaches that the soul and God
are one. In fact, throughout Bhagavad-gita Krishna distinguishes the two but explains how the
individual soul may choose to link with God in a loving relationship.'

29 In 10:20 (FE.), Krishna says, 'I am the soul, Gudakesa, That abides in the heart of all beings; I
am the beginning and the middle Of beings, and the very end too.' Krishna is thus not only
supposed to be the Supersoul but the soul as well, which would apparently make this seeming
dualism— which is in fact known as Vishishtadvaita (Ref. EBV.)— as immune to the last two
criticisms as the monistic interpretation is. The appearance is however hollow, and the best
analogy to explain it might be that of the human body (analogous to Krishna), where the brain
could be held morally responsible if it consciously tortures any of the rest of the organs
(analogous to the soul) for no good reason.

30 For a metaphysical understanding of this statement, please consult Note 24, which attempts
to describe the metaphysics of monism.

28